Generally, commercial engine electronic control (EEC) and Diagnostic, Prognostic and Health Monitoring (DPHM) components experience temperatures that may vary over a wide range. For example, at a typical 35,000 feet (10668 meters) altitude, the ambient temperature will likely be approximately −65° F. On a hot day, the ambient temperature plus solar radiative heat may be approximately 190° F. at sea level static conditions. Military EECs can see even hotter temperatures due to ram air inlet conditions during flight. There are two damaging aspects of the varying thermal environment. The first damaging aspect is the temperature cycles between extreme cold ambient air temperatures and high temperatures caused by ambient conditions coupled with internal heating effects. These thermal cycles stress internal components and solder joints because of differences in their respective thermal expansion coefficients. The cycles happen during every engine flight. The second damaging aspect is that the extreme hot ambient air temperatures over extended periods along with internally generated heat can degrade electronics and eventually cause loss of wire bonding, or other solder joints in integrated circuits. This can cause integrated circuits to malfunction at extreme high or low temperatures without immediate physical damage observable to the naked eye.
Improvements in thermal management of the EEC in the gas turbine engine are therefore needed in the art.